Somali Pirates

Somali pirates hijacked 10 ships in March, the most since December, 2010, and may attack larger merchant vessels this month, AKE Intelligence said, Bloomberg reported.
Four of the seized craft were used to make more attacks, rather than being held for ransom, said Rory Lamrock, a piracy analyst at the Hereford, England-based security and risk-assessment company.
“Pirate syndicates will be emboldened by the latest hijackings, spurring them on to conduct more attacks over the coming weeks,” Lamrock said. “Weather conditions are also forecast to be relatively calm in April, which will make it easier for pirates to launch skiffs and gain access to the deck of a targeted vessel.”
Somali pirate attacks rose to a record 237 in 2011 with ransoms worth $160 million paid to release 31 hijacked vessels, a One Earth Future Foundation report showed. Pirates based in Somalia cost governments and the shipping industry as much as $6.9 billion last year, One Earth estimates.
Pirates are holding 13 vessels with a total of 197 hostages, according to the London-based International Maritime Bureau’s Piracy Reporting Centre (Bloomberg).

The International Transport Federation (ITF) informs that 11 seafarers held hostage by Somali pirates for over three and a half years have finally been released, with the prospect of seeing their families once more after what is described as a 'terrible ordeal'.
The seven Bangladeshi, two Sri Lankan, one Indian and one Iranian hostage were among the 23 crew on the Malaysian-owned and flagged containership Albedo when it was hijacked by Somali pirates on 26 November 2010 while 900 nautical

The Operation Commander of the EU Naval Force, Rear Admiral Bob Tarrant, has issued a renewed warning that Somali pirates are still determined to get out to sea and, if presented with an easy target, will attack.
“I am very concerned that seafarers and nations will lower their guard and support for counter piracy operations in the belief that the piracy threat is over. It is not; it is merely contained," he said

According to a report from Voice of America, Somali pirates said they have evacuated 19 crew members from the hijacked ship, Panama-flagged cargo carrier MV Orna, that caught fire on June 15. The ship's crew remains held by the pirates.
Source: Voice of America

According to a report from the Associated Press, the Dutch Defense Ministry said Somali pirates have released a hijacked cargo ship, the Dutch Antilles-flagged MV Marathon. The ministry reported that one of the 19 crew members died of a gun shot wound sustained when pirates seized the ship on May 7. Another crew member was reportedly injured.
(Source: Associated Press)

According to a report from Bloomberg, Abduwali Muse, a Somali pirate who pleaded guilty to hijacking the container ship Maersk Alabama, should get 27 years in prison when he is sentenced this month, his lawyers said, citing his youth and poverty. Muse admitted in May to two counts of hijacking maritime vessels, two counts of kidnapping and two counts of hostage taking. He faces 27 years to 33 years and nine months in prison under a range agreed to by his lawyers and the U.S.

According to a report from Reuters, Somali pirates seized a British-owned ship operated by an Italian company on April 6, after taking three other ships over the weekend, a maritime official said.
(Source: Reuters)

According to a Reuters report, Somali pirates have hijacked a second ship chartered by chemical tanker shipping group Stolt-Nielsen. Gunmen seized the Stolt Strength in the Gulf of Aden on the afternoon of Nov. 10, nearly two months after they hijacked Stolt Valour, a chemical tanker on its way to India.
(Souce: Reuters)

According to an Oct. 15 report from VOA News, Somali pirates have hijacked a Singapore-owned and flagged container ship in the Indian Ocean. The MV Kota Wajar was seized early Oct. 15 about 550 kilometers north of the Seychelles islands.
(Source: VOA News)

According to a Jan. 17 report from Yonhap, South Korea condemned piracy and pledged to take better measures to protect its ships from the "unacceptable" act after Somali pirates were suspected of seizing a cargo ship over the weekend. On Saturday, Jan. 15, an 11,500-ton South Korean chemical freighter, the Samho Jewelry, was hijacked in the Arabian Sea as the ship was en route to Sri Lanka from the United Arab Emirates with 21 crew members aboard.
(Source: Yonhap)

Somali pirates, after being neutralized by various countries’ navies, are shifting their locations towards India, but the country is watchful to deal with such threats, says Indian Defence minister Manohar Parrikar.
Because their (shipping) lanes are heavily guarded

Underestimating the security risk in the Indian Ocean could put ships in danger once again, says maritime security company MAST Ltd.
“Whilst recent reports and incidents seem to be pointing to the Far East as the next piracy hotspot

Somali pirates have freed four Thai nationals seized from a fishing vessel at sea in 2010, ending the longest-running hostage drama in the Horn of Africa state, the United Nations said on Friday.
At one time Somali pirates made millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships but

Attacks against small tankers off South East Asia’s coasts caused a rise in global ship hijackings, up to 21 in 2014 from 12 in 2013, despite piracy at sea falling to its lowest level in eight years, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has revealed

Does piracy off the coast of South-East Asia pose a threat? The answer is yes. Shipping lanes in Southeast Asia, one of the world’s busiest trade routes, have been hit by a “worrying new rise” in piracy. How is maritime piracy threatening South-East Asia and to what

Croatia takes over EU Naval Force World Food Program vessel protection duties from Serbia
After three months of operating with the European Union Naval Force, a maritime protection team from Serbia handed over its World Food Program (WFP) vessel protection duties to Croatia

The International Maritime Bureau (IMB) has joined other maritime organisations in expressing concern over the decision to compensate convicted Somali pirates.
These criminals have been responsible for taking hostage thousands of seafarers

Somali pirate attacks down by 95 pct since 2011 -Maritime bureau.
Cash-strapped maritime security firms are being forced to use fewer costly elite guards and to diversify into other businesses such as cyber security, as a steep decline in Somali pirate attacks and hotter competition erode

Somali pirates have freed seven Indian sailors detained for close to four years in exchange for an undisclosed ransom, Somali officials and a maritime monitoring group said on Friday.
At one time the pirates made millions of dollars in ransoms from seizing ships sailing the Horn of Africa

While the issue of maritime piracy has largely fallen from the public eye, with the rapid evolution of the 24/7/365 news cycle and a never-ending list of new and globally interesting headlines, such as Ebola, there remains concerns of piracy’s effects on the broader maritime market

Piracy globally costs firms $7 bln, govts $12 bln a year
Ships reducing security after Somali attacks down
Piracy will increase in the Gulf of Guinea as Nigeria prepares for an election next February in order to funnel ransom money into campaign financing

The Joint Shipping Initiative - made up of Shell, BP, Maersk, Stena and Japanese shipping companies NYK, MOL and "K" Line - has announced it has given$1.5 million of additional funds to a United Nations Development Program (UNDP) project to improve the lives of Somalis and security for

Yesterday, 16th September 2014, Chirag Bahri, MPHRP's Regional Director for South Asia, attended a ceremonial event organised by the Ministry of Shipping, Bangladesh to facilitate financial help to the 7 Bangladeshi crew members of MV Albedo.

Piracy: Not a Thing of the Past
Think Somali piracy is a thing of the past? That “past” haunts thousands of seafarers today; but the reports from individual seafarers mostly go unnoticed, as some shipowners leave seafarers high and dry after release—ignored and uncompensated